Jocelyn Ahlers was standing in the hallway of San Diego’s federal building last week, observing people walk in and out of courtrooms and offices. Federal immigration agents gave her a citation for $280.
The agents, who wore bulletproof vests that said DHS POLICE, listed “non-compliance” as the reason for Ahlers’ reprimand. “They said, ‘You’re not allowed to be here, you’re loitering,’” Ahlers said.
Activists say the fines are an inevitable result of a new set of rules limiting access to federal buildings, first published in summer 2025, that they feared would be used to limit their work. The volunteers also see the rules as the latest escalation of ICE efforts to surveil and detain Americans who disagree with the agency’s actions.
For months, volunteers from local immigration advocacy organizations stood silently in the hallways of the building, filming ICE arrests, making notes, and assisting migrants in preparation for potential detention. They began this work over the summer in response to ICE arrests of migrants outside court hearings and at routine check-in appointments, part of the Trump administration’s larger national immigration crackdown…